Warriors: The Ancient Darkness Book 1:Echoes of the Past
by WriterBetweenTheLines
Summary: Long ago, a great battle was fought between the forces of Light and Darkness. The battle was won for Light, and for many moons, peace settled over the Clans. But on that day, a great evil awakended, stirred by the ferocity of the battle. To defeat this new evil, Starclan must choose a new hero of Light, while the darkness has chosen a champion of its own...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Warriors franchise. All credit goes to Erin Hunter and Harpercollins.

Author's Note

Well, here it is. The first step this journey is going to take. Hope you enjoy. If you have any suggestions, advice, complaints, or even just an opinion, don't be afraid to review.

P.S. This takes place many moons after the Great Battle with the Dark Forest.

Prologue

Starlight washed into the stone clearing, casting beautiful spots of dancing light as it bounced off of the reflective surface of the pool in the center of the hollow. For a moment, all was still, until, as if some signal was given off, cats with the same dancing starlight reflected in their pelts began their descent into the stone hollow. Cats of every color descended into the hollow, shifting uneasily where they stood. Many gazes were filled with worry, and tension crackled in the air, feeling as if there were a coming storm. Once it seemed as if all of the cats had arrived, a large ginger tom, his pelt the color of flame, pierced the silence. "I believe we all know why we are here," he said with a voice that echoed with much power and wisdom. There was a slight murmuring as all of the present cats muttered their agreement. "Then there is no need for explanations," the tom's voice rang out again. "A great evil has resurfaced from an age that none of us experienced and that none of us can combat ourselves. An evil far more powerful than any that we have experienced before has been awakened by the cries of a battle that decided our fate long ago." Many cats shuddered as they remembered the blood that had been shed on the day of the great battle, the day that enemies who still held their anger and hatred beyond their deaths came back from the grave to wreak their vengeance. The Clans had stood strong that day, but, even though they had won the battle, forces were set in motion. Forces that were believed to be forgotten long ago were reawakened by the cries of battle and the scent of blood that permeated the air that day. The present evil was defeated, but a hatred that had existed longer than Starclan itself was awakened by the yowls of battle and pain. And it didn't want to be disturbed. "We know that we must choose a new champion if we are to defeat this darkness," his voice rang out again, interrupting the cat's dark thoughts. "There will be one, born with the power of light in her spirit, that will end the darkness and bring the sunrise," the great tom prophesied. "I was once a hero of light. I will be her mentor. Do any disagree with my choice?" The collected cats in the hollow, glanced at each other, but none dared disagree. They knew of the tom's great and noble deeds, and they could think of no better mentor for the new hero than him. "Then it is set. I will be the teacher of the new hero. But she still has time. We will wait. For now," and with that, the cats strode out of the clearing back to wherever they had come. Soon after, the blazing tom sat in the middle of the clearing, gazing into the pool. "Please let me make the right choice…" he muttered to himself.

Far away, a voice rang out from a dark and evil place. "So, they have chosen their champion," the voice rang out, filled with malice and darkness. "I believe it is time to choose a champion of my own then…"

Well, here it is, the prologue of our story. Hope you liked it! Remember to review! Until next time,

The Writer Between The Lines


	2. Apologies

Hi everyone, it's me again. I'm sorry for not updating yet, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block. I know, I know, it seems pretty ridiculous to have writer's block at the very beginning of the story. But, I promise that it will be here soon. If you haven't read and reviewed the prologue, please do so! Every review that I read, good or bad, motivates me to work harder. The harder I work, the faster this gets done. Until I write the first chapter,

WBTL


	3. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Warriors franchise. All credit goes to Erin Hunter and Harpercollins.

"Who are you," Rosekit asked the ginger tom in front of her. He didn't reply, only looked at her with a sad, green-eyed gaze that made her heart feel heavy. "Are you okay," she asked, concerned. After a moment more of that deep, green gaze, the tom parted his jaws as if to speak. Rosekit pointed her ears forward, trying to hear his words, but she was greeted by a loud and squeaky meow. "Rosekit, wake up!" Rosekit opened her eyes, startled. Instead of being beside the lake her mother had told her about, in front of a ginger tom, she was in a mossy nest inside of the Thunderclan nursery. A cream colored she-kit stood in front of her, prodding her with one tiny paw. "Get up Rosekit! Come outside and play with us," her sister pleaded. Rosekit closed her eyes and thought of her dream for a moment. _Who was that tom?_ She wondered. _And why was he so sad?_ "Rosekit," the annoying voice rang out again. "Quit daydreaming and come play!" Rosekit gave a playful growl. "Fine," she said, "but next time _you're_ trying to sleep, you're gonna get a rude awakening!" Dawnkit purred in laughter. "Sounds like a fair trade. Now come on before Squirrelear gets mad at us for waking up Mousekit and Smallkit."Rosekit looked to her mother, Bluecloud, with pleading eyes. "All right," her mother conceded," But try not to get too dirty. And don't bother the elders. I don't want any more complaints." Bluecloud looked at the two kits plaintively. Rosekit's pelt burned with embarrassment at the memory of the elders complaining about all of the kit's pranks and games. "We won't," Dawnkit assured their mother. Rosekit followed her sister outside of the nursery. She felt the warmth of the sunlight wash into her soft fur as the late Newleaf sun washed into her. It would soon be Greenleaf, a plentiful time for all of the Clans. Already she spotted a hunting patrol making their way into the hollow, a squirrel, thrush, and two mice between the three of them. She turned towards the Highledge, where she spotted Cloverfoot sunning herself on a warm stone. She heard her name called, and as she turned towards the voice she saw Dawnkit, who had left her behind, Nighkit, and Foxkit beckoning her over to where they had a ball of moss, probably gifted to them by one of the apprentices. She trotted over to her sister and the two older kits, already expecting what they would say. "Do you want to play catch?" her sister asked, the question Rosekit knew she would hear. "Sure!" she proclaimed happily. "I'll start," Nightkit mewed, grabbing the ball between his teeth and tossing it into the air. "I've got it!" exclaimed Foxkit. The russet kit jumped into the air, promising great strength in her legs when she grew older. She snagged the ball in midair, and launched it at Dawnkit. Dawnkit snatched it with a claw. "Your turn," she told Rosekit, flinging the ball at her sister. Rosekit tried to catch the moss between her teeth, but she misjudged the distance and it bounced off of her nose. Her pelt burned with embarrassment once more as the other kits purred in amusement at her failure. She paced over to where she had seen the ball roll to, a small patch of brambles on the edge of the hollow. She searched for the moss, but it didn't seem to be under the brambles. _Maybe it rolled through the brambles_, she thought. With a bit of effort, she pushed through the brambles, revealing a space behind them. Behind the brambles was a rock wall lined with weeds and grass that could possibly be used as footholds. _Wow_, she thought to herself, _I wonder if anyone knows this is here._ She began to look around for the ball, when she noticed a small black kit in the middle of the clearing. She knew that she had seen this kit before, but she couldn't remember much about him. When she looked closer, she noticed the small black kit playing with a ball of moss. "Um, excuse me," she approached tentatively. The small black kit flinched and looked up, seeming as if he didn't notice her arrival. "Um, where did you get that ball?" she asked. The kit looked at her with a blank, unreadable gaze. "Um, I said, where did you get that ball?" she repeated. He fixed her with that gaze for a moment more before pointing out with his tail toward the brambles she had come through. "Well, could we please have our ball back?" she asked the kit carefully. The kit seemed to think for a moment before pushing the ball sadly towards her. She picked the ball up gingerly with her teeth and prepared to leave when a thought occurred to her. "Um, you can play with us if you want," she told the black tom-kit. He looked at her with that solid gaze for a moment before a happy gleam appeared in his eyes and he stood up to follow her. She flicked her tiny tail happily, turned, and strode out of the clearing. As she and the small, black kit pushed their way out of the brambles, they were greeted with three eager faces. "Did you find it?" asked Dawnkit eagerly. Rosekit held the ball up to show the other kits that she had found it. "Good," voiced Nightkit," Now we can get on with the game!" "Wait," Rosekit objected," Can he play too?" She motioned to the kit beside her. Nightkit and Foxkit exchanged a look. "I don't think Silentkit should play…" Foxkit said. "He doesn't talk, and if he doesn't talk, I don't think he can play right." "What," Rosekit mewed angrily," You don't have to talk to play catch!" Foxkit sighed. "Fine. But if he doesn't play right then he can't play anymore." Rosekit purred happily as the games began anew.

Ω Ω Ω

Rosekit yawned happily as she curled up into her nest with her mother and sister. She thought of the day that had passed, all of the fun that she had had and the new friend she had made. The small black kit had a fitting name, she hadn't heard as much as a single squeak out of him throughout the entire day, but even though he couldn't talk, he could still be fun. They played games all day, and she was tired out. As she succumbed to the heaviness of her eyelids, the last thought that ran through her mind was of the fun she would have tomorrow. Little did she know, a ginger tom sat outside the nursery, eyeing it sadly. _So young_, he thought, _and so little time. Take your time, precious kit. Don't grow up too fast. _ He gave the nursery one last look before fading into starlight.

Ω Ω Ω

"Rosekit, from this day, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Rosepaw," the voice of Oakstar, leader of Thunderclan rang out across the clearing the Clan had gathered. Rosepaw's eyes shined as she heard her apprentice name, pride swelling in her chest at the sound of her clanmates chanting it. "I ask Starclan to watch over this apprentice and guide her paw on her journey to become a warrior," Oakstar said, looking up to the sky before continuing, "Hollyheart, you have finished Lionstrike's mentoring, so I ask you to be the mentor of Rosepaw," Oakstar mewed. "I will." Hollyheart answered. Rosepaw strode to Hollyheart and gingerly touched noses with her mentor. "I am sure that you will pass on your wit and determination to her." Oakstar mewed from the Highledge. "Silentkit, come forward," he meowed forcefully. A black kit stepped forward nervously. "Silentkit, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Silentpaw." Stangely, only a few voices voiced the name of their new apprentice. _Why aren't they cheering for him?_ Rosepaw wondered to herself. "I pray to Starclan to watch over this kit, to guide him on his quest, and to show him his voice." _To show him his voice?_ Rosepaw thought, bewildered. She knew that Silentpaw didn't talk much, but she was sure that he had talked before. Or, she thought he had. "Moonfang, I believe that you would be a fitting mentor. You shall be mentor to Silentpaw," Oakstar mewed, " I hope that you will pass on your skill to this apprentice." "I will," Moonfang mewed. Silentpaw stepped over to Moonfang. As the two cats stretched to touch noses, Silentpaw suddenly swerved to come close to Moonfang's ear instead. His muzzle gave a quick twitch of movement and Moonfang flinched in surprise. She then tentatively touched noses with her new apprentice. "Then it is settled," Oakstar voiced, jumping down from the Highledge. Rosepaw excitedly looked to her mentor. "So what are we gonna do first?" she asked happily. Thoughts of running through the forest, catching prey and slashing enemies flashed through her mind. "Well… first I'll show you the territories," Hollyheart answered. " And then?" Rosekit mewed breathlessly. "Then I'll teach you to take care of the elders." Hollyheart answered with mock excitement. Rosekit's excitement quickly fell to disappointment. "The elders?" she asked disappointedly. "Yep. So go get some rest and get ready to go," Hollyheart mewed, walking back to the warrior's den. Rosepaw looked down and sighed. "Guess I'd better get ready…" she said to no one in particular.

Well, there's the first chapter. I dunno how good I did this time. And I took forever… Sorry! I promise I will not take that long on the next chapter. I also promise more action in the next chapter. Don't lose faith in me! Till next time (which will be soon).

TWBL


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